US-Afghan base attacked in eastern Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban suicide bombers assaulted a joint U.S.-Afghan air base in eastern Afghanistan early Sunday, detonating explosives at the gate and sparking a gunbattle that lasted at least two hours with American helicopters firing down at militants before the attackers were defeated. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said they first exploded a car bomb at the entrance of Jalalabad Airfield then stormed into the base. A spok...

North Korea gears up to launch long-range rocket SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is gearing up to fire a long-range rocket this month in a defiant move expected to raise the stakes of a global standoff over its missile and nuclear programs. The North’s announcement Saturday that it would launch the rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22 came as President Barack Obama prepares for his second term and as South Korea holds presidential elections Dec. 19. It would be North Korea’s second launc...

Egypt’s president sets date for constitution vote CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi called Saturday for a referendum in two weeks on a contentious draft constitution, setting a date for another milestone in the country’s transition to democracy. Widespread disputes over the charter and Morsi’s recent seizure of near absolute power have marred the process and thrown the country into turmoil. As has been the case in nearly two years since Hosni Mubarak was ousted, what should have b...

Mexico swears in president amid violent protests MEXICO CITY (AP) — Enrique Pena Nieto took the oath of office as Mexico’s new president Saturday vowing to restore peace and security and take on the vested interests that have hindered economic prosperity. As several hundred protesters threw fire bombs at police and smashed plate glass windows, Pena Nieto marked the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, with a 13-point plan heavy on old-party populist handouts but with refo...

Myanmar verifying Muslim citizenship SIN THET MAW, Myanmar (AP) — Guarded by rifle-toting police, immigration authorities in western Myanmar have launched a major operation aimed at settling an explosive question at the heart of the biggest crisis the government has faced since beginning its nascent transition to democracy last year. It’s a question that has helped fuel two bloody spasms of sectarian unrest between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims since June, and it ...

Israel moves to build 3,000 new settlement homes JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel responded swiftly Friday to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, revealing it will build 3,000 more homes for Jews on Israeli-occupied lands that the world body overwhelmingly said belong to the Palestinians. The plans also include future construction in a strategic area of the West Bank where critics have long warned that Jewish settlements would kill hopes for a viable Palestinian state. Israel’s moves served as a...

Egypt draft constitution sparks mass protest CAIRO (AP) — Protesters flooded Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday in the second giant rally this week, angrily vowing to bring down a draft constitution approved by allies of President Mohammed Morsi, as Egypt appeared headed toward a volatile confrontation between the opposition and ruling Islamists. The protests have highlighted an increasingly cohesive opposition leadership of prominent liberal and secular politicians trying to direct public ...

Lebanese fighters reported killed inside Syria MASNAA, Lebanon (AP) — Syrian security forces killed as many as 20 Lebanese gunmen who were fighting alongside rebels in Syria on Friday, raising tensions amid mounting fears that the Syrian civil war is enflaming the region. The Lebanese security officials said the gunmen were killed as they tried to enter the Syrian town of Tal Kalakh, near the Lebanese border. The officials asked that their names not be used because they were not authorized...

Egypt reformist warns of turmoil from Morsi decree CAIRO (AP) — Prominent Egyptian democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei warned Saturday of increasing turmoil that could potentially lead to the military stepping in unless the Islamist president rescinds his new, near absolute powers, as the country's long fragmented opposition sought to unite and rally new protests. Egypt's liberal and secular forces — long divided, weakened and uncertain amid the rise of Islamist parties to power — are seekin...

Brash boxer 'Macho' Camacho dies in Puerto Rico SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hector "Macho" Camacho was a brash fighter with a mean jab and an aggressive style, launching himself furiously against some of the biggest names in boxing. And his bad-boy persona was not entirely an act, with a history of legal scrapes that began in his teens and continued throughout his life. The man who once starred at the pinnacle of boxing, winning several world titles, died Saturday after being ambushed in a...

Hamas No. 2 rejects Gaza arms halt CAIRO (AP) — Gaza's ruling Hamas will not stop arming itself because only a strong arsenal, not negotiations, can extract concessions from Israel, the No. 2 in the Islamic militant group told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday. The comments by Moussa Abu Marzouk, just three days after the worst bout of Israel-Hamas fighting in four years, signaled trouble ahead for Egyptian-brokered talks between the hostile neighbors on a new borde...

Pope elevates 6 cardinals to choose successor VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI responded to criticism that the club of churchmen who will choose his successor is too Eurocentric, elevating six new cardinals from Colombia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and the U.S. during a formal ceremony Saturday. Benedict welcomed the prelates into the College of Cardinals during a short, hour-long ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, telling them that their presence among the other red-rob...

Bomb at Pakistan Shiite procession kills 3 ISLAMABAD (AP) — Police say a bomb blast has killed three children and wounded 18 people at a Shiite Muslim procession in northwestern Pakistan. Police official Rashid Khan says the bomb struck the procession Saturday in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, which is located near South Waziristan tribal region. On Sunday, Shiites in Pakistan will celebrate Ashoura, a feast on the 10th day of the holy month of Muharram. Pakistan has suspended mobile ph...

Egypt clashes as president defends his new powers CAIRO (AP) — Supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi clashed Friday in the worst violence since he took office, while he defended a decision to give himself near-absolute power to root out what he called "weevils eating away at the nation of Egypt." The edicts by Morsi, which were issued Thursday, have turned months of growing polarization into an open battle between his Muslim Brotherhood and liberals who fear a new dictatorship....

Camacho's mother says life support will end SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hector "Macho" Camacho will be taken off life support, his mother said Friday night, indicating she would have doctors do that Saturday. It was a decision the former championship boxer's eldest son opposed. The boxer's mother, Maria Matias, told reporters outside the hospital where Camacho lay unconscious since being shot in the face that she had decided doctors should remove life support, but only after three of h...

Gaza crowds surge at Israel border fence, 1 dead GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops fired on Gazans surging toward Israel's border fence Friday, killing one person but leaving intact the fragile two-day-old cease-fire between Hamas and the Jewish state. The truce, which calls for an end to Gaza rocket fire on Israel and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, came after eight days of cross-border fighting, the bloodiest between Israel and Hamas in four years. In a letter to the U.N. Security Co...

EU summit ends without budget deal BRUSSELS (AP) — A summit of the European Union's 27 national leaders, charged with agreeing on a long-term budget for the bloc, broke up Friday afternoon without being able to reach a deal. Coming just days after the 17 eurogroup finance ministers failed, yet again, to agree on the conditions for releasing badly needed bailout money for Greece, the failure of the two-day summit raises questions about how the bloc makes important decisions. In ...

Egyptian train hits school bus, 51 killed ASSIUT, Egypt (AP) — A speeding train that crashed into a bus carrying Egyptian children to their kindergarten on Saturday killed 51 and prompted a wave of anger against a government under mounting pressure to rectify the former regime's legacy of neglect. The crash, which killed children between four and six years old and three adults, led to local protests and accusations from outraged Egyptians that President Mohammed Morsi is failing to de...

Personal, strategic motivations for Obama in Asia BANGKOK (AP) — For President Barack Obama, expanding U.S. influence in Asia is more than just countering China or opening up new markets to American businesses. It's also about building his legacy. Fresh off re-election, Obama will make a significant investment in that effort during a quick run through Southeast Asia that begins Sunday. In addition to stops in Thailand and Cambodia, the president will make a historic visit to Myanmar, where hi...

In bold move, France welcomes Syria ambassador PARIS (AP) — France on Saturday welcomed a member of the Syrian opposition as the country's ambassador, a bold bid to confer legitimacy on the week-old opposition coalition and encourage other Western nations to follow suit. The new envoy, Mounzir Makhous, appeared before the press after talks at France's presidential palace between President Francois Hollande and the head of the newly formed Syrian opposition coalition. France has swiftly ste...